Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) Shares Bought by State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 194,787 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.3% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 6,198,698 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $518,645,000 after buying an additional 77,248 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4,601.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,464,253 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $959,215,000 after buying an additional 11,220,403 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,195 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth approximately $11,342,000. Finally, Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 982.1% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Capital Management Holdings LLC. now owns 449,559 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,613,000 after buying an additional 408,013 shares during the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) opened at 83.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.95. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.16 and a 1-year high of $95.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 27th. The restaurant operator reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 24.69%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post $4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.14%.

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DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. increased their target price on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 19th. BidaskClub cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.18.

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Eugene I. Lee, Jr. sold 93,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total value of $8,528,387.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,116,377.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company. The Company owned and operated 1,536 restaurants through its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada, as of May 29, 2016. The Company’s segments include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining (which includes The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille (Eddie V’s)) and Other Business (which includes Yard House, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, consumer-packaged goods and franchise revenues).

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